Shadow Figure

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Shadow Figure

A man's shadow is cast on a wall in Bucharest, Romania. Your Shot contributor Cristian Munteanu had already had the photo in mind after seeing the graffiti, the shadow of the pole, and the road signs, and was convinced that a looming human shadow on the wall would complete the composition. "It was the golden hour on a February afternoon, when the light was very silky but not as warm as it is in summer," writes Munteanu. "I looked for an angle [then] waited for the right subject … After 15 to 20 minutes, my patience was rewarded when the man with the hat came walking on the sidewalk—I knew his shadow was the one I was looking for."

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Most photographers extol the virtue of photography as a tool for taking the time and attention to actually 'see' what is there in their environment. This urban environment presents a challenge to find anything of intrinsic interest about it. The sidewalk is grungy and neglected. The wall is soiled and seeping. The shadow of the street sign epitomizes urban blandness. Even the graffiti is boring.

However, the shadow of the pedestrian redeems the scene from being, well, pedestrian. Banal. Further, the way the shadow falls along the different surface planes of the sidewalk and wall, has introduced some ambiguous distortion. The shadow figure seems to be simultaneously walking in opposite directions, and while the shadow of the head (with the great, 1950's detective's hat) is evidently male, the lower part could well be the shadow of a woman in a short dress.

My first impression was that this is a boring photo of a boring scene, but having taken the time to look at it for awhile, it now looks very interesting.

This was a patiently 'wait for it' shot that turned out well, the way he wanted it to. Shadow pictures are always very interesting, and I like them. The lighting in this one is soft with the colors standing out, and the shadows taking first place from all of it. j.e.s.